"He is someone who is used to doing things by the book and being a leader of men in the military, and suddenly he is in an environment where he is doing things which test his morals, especially as he isn’t used to being so underhand.
“In order to get certain information for Eleanor, Simon ends up bedding Abigail. But in sleeping with her he falls in love and is then torn between two women. Princess Eleanor gets Simon to do some quite horrible things - all against someone he has grown to love. But, sadly, Abigail is in love with the King, so that love is unrequited. Simon has got one of the big secrets of the series because he finds out about the book Abigail has been writing. But he’s an incredibly proud individual – and pride is an emotion that, when it gets hold of you, leads you to do things which surprise even you.
“I was attracted to the part of Simon because it is very delicate and one has to be very careful with it. I haven’t tackled something like this before so I found it very exciting to get close to that Royal world and think about how it would make me react. I just hadn’t seen a script like this for a long while, with so many different layers. It’s all about relationships, and it doesn’t matter if that’s the King’s relationships or Ruby’s relationships with the footmen. Hopefully the public will invest in the storylines and relationships throughout.
“Before taking this part I had never really considered the Monarchy - they had always just been a fixture which existed. But having done the research I did, I certainly have a new appreciation for them, especially their sense of duty and honour. There is something about the tradition of the institution which I really like, and something about the old ways I actually find very admirable. I think maybe we are all lacking in some of those ways and it feels a shame many of those qualities have died.
“We aren’t trying to replicate the Royal Family in any way, so what I hope the public see is just a very good family drama. Maybe they will actually start to think of a Royal Family in a different way and, rather than thinking of them as Princes, Kings and Queens, people might start to see them as mothers, sisters or brothers. Maybe we’ll get away from people reading some of the nonsense in the papers and get back to seeing them as a real family.”
Image and text © ITV1
